Brake-control system.



PATENTED FEB. 12, 1907.

L. A. HAWKINS. BRAKE CONTROL SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILED 0018,1904.

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LAURENCE A. HAWKINS, OF SCH ZN ECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T GEN- ERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OFNEW YORK.

B RAKE- CONTROL SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb; 12, 1907.

Application filed October 8, 1904 Serial No. 227,634.

useful Improvements in Brake-Control Sys tcms, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to air-brakes for electrically-propelled vehicles operated in trains on the multiple-unit system.

The object of my invention is to provide a novel control systemv for the brakes, which enables the brakes on all the train to be operated simultaneously from a given point with gadual application and release, which gives an automatic application of the brakes on all the train, i'l the train breaks apart at any point, which does away with the necessity for train-pipes and pipe-couplings between the cars, which eliminates the ordinary motormans valve and much of the car-piping, which makes the air-compressors on the several cars wholly independent, so that no synchronizing apparatus is required lot the several governors, wl'iich enables the motorman to control both power and brakes by a single handle, which insures the automatic cuttin oil" of power and application of the brakes upon an accident to the motorma-n, and which is-readily applied to single cars with standard straight air-brake equipment, so as to adapt them for operation in a train.

In accomplishing; the above results 1 provide a valve on eaclncar arranged to move automatically into position to connect brakecylinder to reservoir, so as to apply the brakes, and electrically-controlled devices Since the automatic valve is arranged to 5 5 move automatically into position to connect the brake-cylinder to reservoir, its electrical control means are decnerg'ized. A breaking apart oi" the train at any point, which fdcenerglzcs the electric controlling devices "for the automatic valve, willproduce a movement of the valve to braking position and automatically apply the breaks on all the train. Since the control is wholly electrical, the usual motormans valve may be eliminated, and the control of the brakes obtained by two or three extra coi'itacts on the usual master-com trollcr.

it is frequently desirable that the power sliould be cut oil and the brakes applied in case ol an accident to the motorman in the ;operat1on ol' the tram, and to accomplish i l l l l l 1 l i for moving the valve to lap or release position. Since the control electrical, the ne cessity for train-pipes and pipe-couplings between the cars is done away with, and instead two extra train-wires are employed in thetrain-control leads, so as to enable the brakes on all the cars to be controlled simultaneously from a single point. The electrical controlling means for the valve is so arranged that the motorman can move the automatic valve at will to any one of its three positions and hold it there, so that a gradual application or release ol ihcbrakcs maybe obtaincd. between the several reservoirs, no synchronizingr devices or connections oi" any kind are required between the several governors.

Since there is no pipe connection this end devices have been proposed heretofore for application to the motor-controller or to'thc motormans valve, or both, which return the controller to oil' position or move the mo'tormans valve. to braking position when the handle Joli either is released by the motorman. The objection that has been found heretofore to this arrangement is the strain which is placed on the muscles of the motormans hand, since in operation he must maintain a grip'on the handle of the controller orvalve, as the case may be, throughout the operation oi thetrain. With the master- 8 5 controller arranged in accordance with rnv invention to control both power and brakes, this objection no longer arises, since only one hand is required at a time for operation, and the motorman may change hands and rest as 0 often he desires.

-My invention then consists in the combi nation, with a train of cars each equipped with an air-brake system, of a valve for each car arranged to move autpmatically into position to establish braking connections and elcctricallycontrolled means for moving the valve to lap or release positions.

More specifically considered, my invention consists in the combination, with the above- .100 mentioned valve, of controlling means ar ranged to move said valve to lap or to release positions, according to the amount of voltage impressrd upon the COIllflOlliDg mea s, and means under the control of the motor-man lor varying the v ltage impressed upon the controlling means.

Still more specihcally considered, my invention consists in the combination, with the above. valve, of two independent electroresponsive devices arranged to respond to differcnt current strengths and to move the valve master-contro lerfor controlling the drivingrespectively to lap and to release position,

with means under the control of the motorman for varying the current strength sup:

plied to the devices.

Another feature of my-invention consists inthc combination, with the valve and electrlc controlli'n device-above mentioned, of a motors of the train and'provided'with extra contacts for controlling the controlling devices for. the valve.

. Another feature consists in arranging the i controller in the above combination so that it returns automatically to off'position when released. 1

' Gther features of my invention will appear from the following specification and will be more specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

connected on each car the controllers C and. G, the former of which is shown with its con-' tacts'developed on a plane surface. These contacts, as shown, consist of six stationary contact-fingers c to c and two sets of movable contacts. The three upper stationary contacts 0, c3, and c and the corresponding movablecontacts represent the usual-portion of the controller controlling the 'motor-cir-' wits, and the train wires 1 and 2, which are connected to these contacts, represent the usual train-wires for'the motor-control system. The particular arrangement of these contacts and their connections and the arrangement and connections of the motorcontrolling devices form no part of the pres:

ent invention, andthe motor-controlling devices have been omitted from the drawings for the sake of sim licity. It will be understood that by the t ree upper stationary contact-fingers, their corresponding movable contacts, and the two upper train wiresis represented any suitable multiple-unit motor-control system. The only controller-contacts which are involved in the control of the 1 brakes are the three lower contact-fingers c to c. and their corresponding movable con tacts. I Similarly the train-wires 3 and 4 alone belong to the brake-controlling system.

It will be seen that the contact-finger e is connected to the battery D, the other terminal of which is connected to earth. The contact c is connected to an intermediate terminal of the battery, and the finger c is connected to the train-wire 3. Thus it will be seen that if any devices are electrically connectedat one terminal to this train-wire3 and at the other terminal to earth and if the are connected to train-wire 4, which is couplcd to train-wire 3 at the rear end of the train, as is indicated at The purpose of this extra train-Wire and the rear coupling is .to provide for the de-nergizing of all the electric controlling devices on all the cars of the train, so that the brakes will be applied on all the cars if the trainbreaks apart at any point whatever.

The. breaking system comprises the usual air-compressor A, the reservoir R, and brakecylinder B'. In place-of the motormans valve usually employed on single cars equi ped with a straight air-brake system the rake-cylinderB is connected to the reservoir R through the automatic valveV. This automatic valve is controlled by two relay valves F and F, which are respectively controlled by the magnets m and M. The construction and arrangement of the automatic valve V will be fully describ ed hereinafter but for the present it is sufficient to understand that the valve'V when its electrical controlling means are dee'nergized establishes a connection between reservoir R and the brakecylinder B, so as to apply the brakes, but that when valve F is opened valve V is ICC moved to lapposition, and when valve F is opened valve V is moved to release position connecting brake-cylinder B to atmosphere. It will be seen that the two magnets m and M are represented as of different sizes. This is to indicate that the magnet M controlling the valve F operates on a smaller current flow than the magnet m controlling the valve F. j

The operation is then as follows: With the controller in'the, off position, as shown above,

the-motoccontrol and brake-control circuits are 0 en. The power is consequently off and t e brakesare applied. This is the\po sition to which the controller returns automatically when released by the motorman. This is indicated by the spiral springs on the shaft of controller C". Consequently in order to prevent the cutting oil of power and application of the brakes the motorman must keep one hand or the other on the.con-

trollerhandle; but since only one hand is resequent-ly be impressed on train-wire 3. A 1

current is thus sent through the magnets 17). and M, which is insuilicient to operate the magnet m,- but which causes the magnet M to open the valve F so as to move the automatic valve V to lap position in the manner that will be hereinafter"explained. It the controller C is moved to'its second position, as indicated by the dotted line '2", the total potential of the battery B will be impressed on train-wire 3 and sufficient current will tlow through the magnets to operate magnet m so as to open the valve F and move the automatic valve to release position. Thus by movin; the controller to oil position or position i or 2 the valve V may be moved to braking, lap, or release positionr As the controller is moved through its remaining positions in order to close the motor-controlling circuit the contacts 0" and c are maintained electrically connected and the valve V is maintained at release position. it the motormamhowever, at any time releases the handle, the controller C will return to oil' position, cutting oil' the power and appl r ing the brakes. Moreover, if at any time the train breaks apart the connection between magnets m and M on all the cars and the batter) D will be broken and an automatic application oi the brakes secured.

Referring now to l ig. 2, the construction of the automatic valve will be explained. The automatic valve Y comprises a slidevalve 'v, mounted on a rod or spindle 5, which when the electrical controlling means are deenergized is held in the position shown by the compression-spring 6, which b ears against the piston 7, secured to the spindle. in this position of the valve '0 the pipe 1", lead: ing to the reservoir, is in direct connection with the pipe I), leading to the brake-cylinder. This is the position of the valve to which it tends to return when the'electrical controlling means are denergized. Spindle 5 is limited in its movement by the head 9, as shown. The chamber on the left-hand side of piston 7 is open to atmosphere by port 8, while the right-hand side of the piston is in connection with the pipe f, the pressure in which is controlled by the valve F. valve-casing V contains a piston 10, which is pression-spring 11 as long the electrical controlling means are deenergized. 'lho l l I 1 The , on piston 1 the valve is in lap position.

chamber on the left-hand side of piston 10 is open to atmosphere through channels in spindle 12, as shown. ()11 its right-hand side the piston is connected to the pipe controlled by the valve F.

The-construction ol the valves F and F is shown in Fig. 3, which is a cross-sectional view of the valve i This valve comprises a puppet-valve h, which is normally held seated by a spring 9 and which disconnects the pipef from the connection to the reservoir. Vt hen the valve 71 is seated, as shown,

1 the pipe f is in conmuinication with the atmosphere through channels in the spindle connecting the valve it with the core of magnet M. \v'hen the valve It is raised by the nuignet M, this connection is closed and a connection is established between the pipef and the reservoir. Obviously instead of makingihe magnets in and M of diil'erent sizes so as to respond to different currents strengths the same result may be obtained by making the spring 9 of one valve stronger than that of the other.

The operation is then as follows; When a small. amount ol current is sent through the i'nagnets m and M by moving the controller C to its first position, the valve F is opened, connecting the: pipe f with reservoir R. The reservoinpressurc upon the right-hand side of piston '7 moves spindle 5 toward the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, until the head 9 on the spindle strikes the piston 1.0. The spindle is then brought to rest, since the pressure is not suilicient to move piston 10 against the pressure of spring 11. in this position the slide-valve v closes the connection 6 to brake-cylinder, or, in other words, If the voltage impressed upon the magnets m and M is now increased by moving the controller to its second position, magnet m will open valve F, ccnnectingthe right-hand side of piston 10 to reservoir. The pressure on the piston will then move it toward the left, allowing spinas long as the controller is maintained in its second position or is moved to close the motor-circuit; but if the controller is returned to its first position the connection between pipef and reservoir will be broken and pipe f will be connected to atmosphere by means of the channels on the spindle of the valve h, as has been heretofore GXPlalllEd, and piston 10 will be moved back to the position shownin Fig. '2,

M returning valve "0 to lap position. Similarly it the controller is moved to off position or if the circuit of the magnets m and held in the position shown by the com- .\l is broken the pipe f will be discgmnected l'rom reservoir and connected to atmosphere so as to allow the spring 6 to return the piston 7 to the position shown in Fig. 2, thereby returning the valve '0' to braking position.

Many modifications may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts of the automatic-valve V as well as in its controlling devices. 'It is not essential that independent devices should be employed .for

moving the 'valve to lap and to .release position. Furthermore, the arrangement and connection of the controller-contacts maybe varied as desired. Accordingly I do not desire to limit myself to the particular-construction and arran 'ement of parts here shown, but aim in t e appended claimsto cover all modifications which are 'within the] scope of my invention. t

4 What I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In combination with a train of cars equipped with independent air-brake systems, a valve on each car'adapted and arranged to move automatically into position .to establish braking connections, and electrically-controlled means 'for each valveadapted to move it to lap and to release positions.

2. In combination with a train of cars equipped with independent air-brake systems, valve mechanism on each car adapted to connect brake-cylinder to reservoir or to atmosphere or to disconnect it from both and arranged to move automatically into position to connect it to reservoir, electrically-operated controlling means for said valve'inech anism, and a control-circuit for said means extending through the train.

3. In combination with a train/of cars equipped with independent air-brake systems, a. valve on each car adapted and arranged to move automatically 'into position to connect brake-cylinder to reservoir, electrically-controlled means adapted to move said valve to lap or torelease position according to the amount of voltage impressed thereon, a control-circuit extending through. the train and connected. to said electricallycont-rolled means on each car, and means at a distant point for impressing different voltages on said control-circuit.

4. In combmation. with a train of cars equipped with independent air-brake systerns, an automatic valve on,each car adapttems, an automatic valve on each car adapt- Q ed and arranged to move automatically into position to connect brake-cylinder to reservoir, two relay-valves controlling said valve and adapted when moved to move said valve respectively to lap and to releasepositio'ns,

two magnet-windings adapted to operate said relay-valves and to respond to different impressed voltages, a control-circuit extendingthrough the train and connected to -the several windings, and means under the control of the motorman for impressing different voltages on said circuit.

6. In combination with a train of cars equipped with independent air-brake .systems, a valve on each car'arranged to move automatically into position to connect brakecylinder to reservoir, electricallyoperated controlling means therefor, two train-wires of the same polarity extendingthrough the train and connected in series at one end of the train, one of said train-wires being connected to said electrically-operatedmeans on each car, and a controlling-switch connected to the other train-wire.

7. In combination with a motor-operated train of cars each equipped with an independ- I out air-brake system, a valve on each car arranged to move automatically into position to connect brake-cylinder to reservoir, elec trically-operated controlling means therefor, control-circuits for said electrically-operated means and for the driving-motors extending through the train, and a switch for controlling both circuits.

8. In combination with a motor-operated train of cars each equipped with an independent air-brake system, a valve on each car arranged to move automatically into position to connect brake-cylinder to reservoir, electrically-cperate'd controlling means therefor, control-circuits for said electrically-operated means and for the driving-motors extending "through the train, a switch for controlling both circuits, and'means for returning said switch to ofi positlon when released by the motorman.

9. In combination with a motor-operated train of cars each equipped with an independent air-brake system, an automatic valve on each car adapted and arranged to move automatically into position to connect brake-cylinder to reservoir, eletrically-operated controlling means for said valve adapted to move said. valve to lap and to release position, a control-circuit for said means extending through the train, a second control-circuit for, the

'driving motors, and a controlling switch adapted and arranged when moved from off position to energize the first control-circui t to move the automatic valves to lap position then to move them to release position, and then to energize the motor-control circuit.

10. In combination with a motor operated train of cars each equipped with an independent air-brake system, an automatic valve on each car adapted and arranged to'move automatically into position to connect brake-cylinder to reservoir, electrically-operated controlling means for said valve adapted to move said valve to lap and to release position, a control-circuit for said means extending through the train, a second control-circuit for the driving-motors, a controllingswitch adapted and arranged when moved from off position to energize the first controlcircuit to move the automatic valves to lap position, then to move them to release position, and then to energize the motor-control circuit, and means for returning said switch to ofi position when released by themotormoving said valve to lap or to release posia tion according to the amount of voltage impressed thereon, a control-circuit for said means extending through the train, a second control-circuit for the driving-motors,-a controlling-switch adapted and arranged when moved from off position to impress a definite voltage on the first control-circuit, then to increase said voltage, and then to energize the I motor-control circuit, and means for returning said switch to off position when released by the motorman.

12. In combination'with a train of cars equipped with independent air-brake systems, a valve on each car arranged to move automatically into position to connect brakecylinder to reservoir, electrically-operated means for breaking said connection'and connecting brake-cylinder to atmos here a control -circuit for said 'electrica ly-operated means extending through the train, a manually-operated switch controlling said controlcircuit, and means for, returning said switch to off position when released bythe operator. 13. In combination with a train of cars equipped with independent air-brake systems, a brake-controlling valve on ea'chjcar, electrically-operated controlling means therefor, a source of current for said controlling means, and electrical connections from said controlling means to said source, the connection from the controlling means on each car to the source passing in series through all the cars in the train.

In Witness'whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 5th day ofOctober, 1904.

LAUmiNcE A. HAWKINS;

Witnesses:

EDWARD VVILLIAMS. J12, FRED B. COREY. 

